The Hufflepuff

Twenty One

"I didn't help with that, I checked it and suggested slight changes and things to include but I never actually fed you the answers. You're just stressed because it's an exam setting."

"And because this determines if I get into this class or not." She sighs, screwing up her face in frustration. "Can we just take a five minute break?"

They lean back against the lounge, setting aside the books. "Why do you want to do alchemy so bad?" Malfoy asks.

"It's stupid really."

"Not to you, it was enough of a reason for you to put up with me for a whole year."

"My mother took it. She excelled at it actually, the few times my dad let me visit my grandparents they would tell me all about how great she was at it, how it was her passion. I wanted to take it so that, in a way, I could get to know something about her, experience something she loved and that had been so important to her in her life."

"She died when you were little didn't she?"

"Yeah, a death eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, killed her a few months after I was born."

"I'm sorry," Malfoy says, sounding sincere for the first time since Eleanor had met him.

"It's fine, it's kinda nice to talk about it for once."

"I'm sorry you had to grow up without her though."

"I don't think anyone could have prevented it. She was so outspoken in the war, so determined to stop Voldemort."

Malfoy flinches a little at the name, "The death eater, Bellatrix. She- she's my aunt."

"I know."

"You-what?"

"I'm the daughter of a squib I'm not ignorant, I know the lineage of most of the larger pureblooded families."

"And you're still willing to sit here talking to me about your mother?"

"We don't choose our family, and we can't be held accountable for their choices and actions."

"Thank you," Malfoy says.

"Thank you, for listening that is."

The two of them spend a few more minutes chatting softly before returning to the work, a fresh energy within Eleanor helping her to move through the work with more ease and confidence.

As the night grew later they found themselves struggling to stay awake until Madam Pince found them ten minutes before curfew began.

"Off to bed the both of you, a good night's sleep is all you need for these exams." She says, ushering them out into the corridor.

They stumble together down the stairs and corridors towards their common rooms, Draco supporting a still sleepy Eleanor.

He walks her all the way past the kitchens and to the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room.

"She's right you know, no more studying, just go to sleep and you'll do great tomorrow." He says, before turning to make his way back to his own common room, "Night Eleanor."

"Goodnight Draco," Eleanor murmurs, before tapping on the barrel and stepping into the warm light of the common room.

_____

The potions exam passed relatively easily, Eleanor making sure to find Malfoy afterwards and signal to him that she thought she'd done well.

After that, the astronomy theory exam was nothing, and on Wednesday night Eleanor, Cynthia and Susan made their way up to the top of the astronomy tower with the Gryffindors to take their practical.

Halfway through the exam though Susan pointed out a group of people making their way across the grounds.

"Are they going towards Hagrid's?" Cynthia whispers.

A loud bang filled the air a few minutes later and the night air was lit up with flashes of red light as whoever was on the grounds tried to stun Hagrid.

"What's happening?"

"Umbridge most likely," Eleanor replies, staring transfixed at the scene below.

Another figure ran out of the castle, "How dare you," she shouted as she ran. "Leave him alone I say."

The three of them and several others screamed when all of the shadowy figures turned in unison and shot a number of stunning spells at McGonagall, casting an eerie red glow around her as she was picked up off the ground with the force before dropping down, unconscious.

There was nothing to be done from so high up, and no one worked on the end of their exam before they were dismissed and returned to their common room.

They sat up for a while, discussing amongst themselves what they'd seen before Eleanor decided to go to bed and sleep before their last exam, History of Magic, the next day.